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Truck electrification services are spreading, thanks to government grants, stricter idling laws and trucker demand. Each company offers some electrification service, such as heating and cooling, but what and how they offer services varies and can include Internet and cable.

IdleAire this summer began reopening its network of truck stop facilities under new ownership.

IDLEAIRE. Tennessee-based IdleAire, under new ownership after its bankruptcy, expects to launch up to 30 locations offering electrification and other services at truck stops this summer, said CEO Mike Fielden. IdleAire formerly had at least 131 locations in 34 states.

The first new locations were planned to open in early July, starting with Salt Lake City’s Sapp Bros. and some Pilot Travel Centers. Other sites are expected to open in North Dakota, Minnesota, Tennessee, Missouri, California and Georgia. Truck stop owners have expressed interest in five locations in Texas, Arkansas and Pennsylvania.

The grant will finance services for about 25 to 30 trucks per location at truck stops and rest areas that are privately owned or operated over two years, said Shorepower’s Alan Bates.

Most of the DOE-funded locations will be along Interstates 5, 80, 10, 20 and 95 and more concentrated in California because of its strict idling laws. Some of these spots will offer plug-ins for reefers, as well.

Shorepower, formerly known as Shurepower, plans to launch 25 locations over the next two years. It can accommodate 300 trucks at six locations in Oregon and Washington and one in North Carolina.

In April, Arizona awarded $2.15 million to Shorepower to install 150 electrification units at truck stops in southern Arizona. It costs $1 to start the service and $1 an hour. Shorepower also offers communication services.

CRAUFURD MANUFACTURING. Massachusetts-based Craufurd Manufacturing produces the AireDock System, a unit that offers heating, cooling and electricity. This summer, the Maine Turnpike Authority expects to offer 30 units at its West Gardiner Service Plaza site.

CABAIRE. Connecticut’s CabAire, a subsidiary of Control Module Industries, will offer electrification at six locations totaling 348 spaces by October, said CabAire’s Daniel Shanahan.

CabAire services, which include electrification and other amenities, are offered at 44 spaces in Salisbury, N.C.; 28 spaces at New Stanton Travel Plaza on the Pennsylvania Turnpike; and 116 spaces at North Stonington, N.C.

CabAire will provide the first truck stop electrification at a U.S. port, starting in September at the New Haven (Conn.) Port Authority with 14 spaces. In July, 50 spaces will open at the Delaware Welcome Center on I-95. Also slated are 24 spaces at the Smyrna Rest Area, also in Delaware, and 86 spaces on the New Jersey Turnpike’s Vince Lombardi Plaza.

— Jill Dunn

FMCSA seeks better reporting of convictions

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has published guidance for state driver licensing agencies to meet U.S. commercial driver’s license rules for reporting traffic convictions and keeping CDL information secure.

The FMCSA published two rules in the July 2 Federal Register. One was for the states on timely reporting and posting of traffic offense convictions. The other was regarding CDL information security and recommendations for continuing operation and recovering information in a disaster.

Written in response to a U.S. Department of Transportation’s Inspector General’s report about the Commercial Driver’s License Information System, the rules require state driver licensing agencies to do the following:

• When a CDL holder is convicted of a traffic offense in a state other than the state issuing the license, that state must notify the licensing state within 10 days of the conviction.

• If a CDL holder is disqualified or driving privileges are withdrawn/suspended for longer than 60 days in a state other than the licensing state, the penalizing state must notify the CDL holder’s licensing state within 10 days.

• Whenever a state licensing agency receives notification of a conviction/disqualification from another state, it must post the information to the driver history record within 10 days of receipt. The timeline is the same if the conviction occurred in the licensing state.

The FMCSA will begin posting information about state compliance with timeliness requirements on its website soon.

— Jill Dunn

Arrow foresees used truck shortage

Arrow Truck Sales’ new chief executive says inventories of used trucks for sale will go from a recent glut to a shortage in the near future.

Arrow Truck Sales says low-mileage trucks are selling quickly.

The inventory of used trucks in May was down 33 percent from May 2009, and “we’re getting fairly close to a normalized inventory,” says Steve Clough, president and CEO of the Kansas City, Mo.-based used truck remarketer, which is owned by the Volvo Group.

Other trends point to improvements in the used truck market, says Clough. Arrow’s retail sales are up 60 percent year over year, and credit applications are up 27 percent year over year.

Used truck values are firming as well, but they had nowhere to go but up. Clough points to National Automobile Dealers Association data showing that in absolute dollars – not adjusted for inflation – the price of a mid-range Class 8 sleeper in 2009 was comparable to the price in 1982 and was the lowest in many years.

Used truck inventories are destined to decline sharply, Clough says. Last year, many 2005-2006 pre-buy trucks came into the secondary market and there also was excess equipment due to failures and repossessions. “Supply mushroomed in 2009, while demand was weak.” But low-mileage used trucks are rapidly disappearing, although there remain “a fair amount” of 400,000-mile trucks.

With low new truck sales in 2007-2009, the supply of used trucks is about to drop, Clough says. “There will be a shortage of used trucks.” Even if some analysts are right that lenders will demand trucks back from so-called “zombie truckers” – carriers that are in arrears on note payments – as used truck values strengthen, the result probably will just be a welcome increase to soften the inevitable shortage, Clough says.

— Avery Vise

SHORT HAULS

DAIMLER TRUCKS North America said it is recalling about 540 workers to three North Carolina manufacturing facilities. “Our Class 8 daily build rate in the U.S. will increase by more than 67 percent this July versus July 2009,” said Mark Lampert, a senior DTNA vice president.

FOR-HIRE TRUCKING added jobs for the third consecutive month in June, according to preliminary figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Payroll employment in trucking is up 8,800 jobs since March, according to preliminary BLS numbers.

ABOUT $6 MILLION was added by the U.S. Department of Transportation to help address the truck parking shortage on five U.S. interstates: I-15 in Utah, I-10 in Mississippi, I-5 in Oregon, I-40 in Tennessee and I-81 in Pennsylvania. The funds will be used to add parking capacity and to develop ways to inform drivers about space availability.

ORDERS FOR CLASS 8 trucks in June for North American truck makers were 15,667 units, a 20.5 percent increase over May and 90.8 percent better than June 2009, according to FTR Associates.

SURFACE TRADE between the United States and Canada and Mexico increased 32 percent in April compared with a year earlier, reaching $66 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The increase is the third consecutive monthly gain of at least 24 percent from the previous year.

Hours rule proposal advanced

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sent its proposed hours-of-service rule to the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking expected to be published Nov. 4.

FMCSA was scheduled to issue its proposed rulemaking to the Office of Management and Budget by July 26, and the OMB is scheduled to clear it by Oct. 26. The public can comment until Jan. 4 and a final rule is expected by July 26, 2011.

The creation of new rule is the result of an Oct. 26, 2009, legal settlement between Public Citizen and other organizations and the agency.

The July DOT report noted other rulemaking publication deadlines, including:

• Nov. 23 for CDL testing and Commercial Driver Permit standards. This rule includes establishing minimum federal standards for states to issue permits, setting maximum issuance and renewal periods and a minimum age limit.

• April 4, 2011, for CMV driver positive controlled substances and alcohol test results database. This would create a central database for verified positive controlled substances and alcohol test results for CDL holders and refusals by drivers to submit to testing.

• Dec. 17 for revisions to expand the number of motor carriers required to have electronic onboard recorders.

— Jill Dunn

SHORT HAULS

SPOT MARKET FREIGHT availability increased by 216 percent in May compared with the same month in 2009, according to TransCore’s North American Freight Index. This was the strongest volume for May in at least 10 years, the company said. Freight availability increased in May for dry vans and refrigerated vans in advance of the peak summer season, but declined 15 percent for flatbeds.

TRUCK TONNAGE ROSE 7.2 percent in May from a year earlier, but tonnage dipped 0.6 percent from April, the American Trucking Associations said. May’s year-over-year increase was the sixth consecutive annual gain.

THE CALIFORNIA Air Resources Board awarded $200 million in Proposition 1B funds to cut emissions from heavy-duty trucks and other sources in the state’s four busiest trade corridors. The Los Angeles/Inland Empire, Central Valley, Bay Area and San Diego/Border regions received the funds, approved by voters in 2006.

Pilot, Flying J wrap up merger

Pilot Travel Centers LLC and Flying J Inc. have completed the merger of the two companies, creating a network of more than 550 interstate travel centers and travel plazas.

Pilot and Flying J brands will start appearing on signage at interstate travel center locations of the recently merged companies.

The new company, called Pilot Flying J, operates in 43 states and six Canadian provinces and employs more than 20,000 people.

Pilot Flying J is selling 26 locations to Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores as required by the Federal Trade Commission as a condition for the merger.

In July 2009, Pilot and Flying J announced a preliminary agreement to merge their travel center operations.

Pilot has begun to accept the TCH card, and Flying J has begun to accept Comdata cards.

Other plans call for enhanced restaurant offerings with national brands in all locations. Brand additions to Flying J locations in the new network include Denny’s, Subway and Pizza Hut. Also, drivers’ lounges, new gasoline and diesel pumps, enhanced showers and remodeled restrooms at many locations will be upgraded.

Meanwhile, Flying J’s reorganization plan – which provides for the payment of its creditors in full in cash, plus interest – has been confirmed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Flying J has refinanced some of its debt and sold certain noncore assets, including Longhorn Pipeline, Flying J Oil and Gas, Haycock Petroleum, and Big West of California. The company said these transactions have enabled it to repay in full the $1.4 billion owed its creditors.

To reduce confusion, Flying J will change its corporate name to FJ Management Inc., which will continue to own and operate the Big West Oil refinery in North Salt Lake, Utah, and Transportation Alliance Bank, plus maintain an ownership stake in TCH (Transportation Clearing House) and in Pilot Flying J travel centers.

— Staff reports

CSA testimony focuses on evaluations

Trucking representatives told U.S. House members the Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 is good in some regards, but they have concerns about how its data are used in safety evaluations.

The agency’s rollout of CSA 2010 is expected to be complete by December. CSA will replace the FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Safety Status Measurement System, or SafeStat, with the Carrier Safety Measurement System, which is part of the agency’s CSA initiative.

Agency Administrator Anne Ferro said the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute is independently evaluating test results, which it will report in December.

The subcommittee memo issued to House members stated FMCSA has indicated it is studying an American Trucking Associations recommendation to assess state police records to determine crash accountability, or which party is at fault, before including the crash in SMS. It is considering changing this aspect of the system before a nationwide rollout.

The agency has argued its data analysis shows carriers involved in numerous crashes are more likely to be involved in future crashes, irrespective of fault.

“Under CSA 2010, the agency is shifting its main focus from the driver to other stakeholders in the industry and recognizing that drivers often are not the principal decision makers in the shipment of goods,” Spencer said.

ATA is concerned how CSA 2010 measures carrier exposure for evaluating each carrier’s relative performance in several categories, said Keith Klein, Transport America CEO and executive vice president, who spoke on behalf of the association. Under CSA 2010’s current methodology, FMCSA uses a count of carrier trucks to measure risk exposure rather than the total number of miles these vehicles traveled.

— Jill Dunn

Aug. 15 is deadline for merged contests

The nomination deadline is Aug. 15 for the 2011 Overdrive TCA Owner-Operator of the Year. That winner will be presented at the annual meeting of the Truckload Carriers Association, March 4-7, 2012, in Orlando, Fla.

The contest is open to all owner-operators who log a majority of their miles in the truckload segment. Nominees are judged on safety and professional accomplishments.

The 12 top nominees will be featured monthly in Overdrive as Overdrive TCA Owner-Operators of the Month.

For nomination forms and details about rules and eligibility, visit truckload.org.

Overdrive’s sister publication, Truckers News, and TCA are sponsoring a comparable competition for company drivers.

Navistar said its International ProStar+ consistently outperformed competing trucks by nearly 1 percent to 2.5 percent in fluid consumption efficiency. Competing trucks use engines based on selective catalytic reduction technology, which requires the addition of urea, to meet emissions requirements.

In a prepared statement, Freightliner said the Navistar testing does not comply with the “basic premises for proper engineering work and thus doesn’t provide a trustworthy result.”

Volvo Group strongly defended the effectiveness of SCR and warned against revamping the regulations with the roll-out of EPA 2010-compliant engines already well under way.

Navistar commissioned the Transportation Research Center Inc. to conduct its tests. TRC performed independent Technology & Maintenance Council Type 4 testing of three EPA 2010-compliant trucks.

— Staff reports

Driver shortage could worsen

As the economy recovers and truck freight increases, a driver shortage is emerging, but several factors are working against meeting that demand, speakers said at a recent online seminar on The Emerging Driver Shortage.

Forecasting below-average economic growth of 5 to 6 percent over the next three to four quarters, Noel Perry, a senior consultant at research firm FTR Associates, said, “We don’t have to have a wild recovery to get a driver shortage.”

Perry and Tom Kretsinger Jr., president and chief operating officer of American Central Transport, gave their views at the webinar presented by Overdrive and Truckers News.

Perry said that even though the driver shortage could average 200,000 drivers annually over the next couple of years, carriers are unwilling to gamble on ramping up hiring significantly “until they a strong, consistent, long record of earnings.” He said many carriers laid off recruiters, trainers and dispatchers and aren’t about to rehire them right away.

Economic conditions have created a driver shortage that will match the shortfall in 2004, Perry said. Experienced drivers are in short supply because many dropped out of the business or retired during the recession.

Kretsinger said owner-operators are facing difficult times on many fronts, including running aging equipment, high maintenance costs, expensive new trucks, stagnant pay rates and government attacks on the independent contractor status. The federal government “has already increased the budget of the IRS to start auditing and challenging people, and that’s a frightening thing on the owner-operator side,” he said.

Kretsinger said the recession resulted in driver surpluses, reduced driver pay and the weeding out of the worst drivers. He said current or proposed regulations such as Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010, tougher restrictions involving sleep apnea and other health problems, electronic onboard recorders and new hours of service regulations will make it tougher to rebuild driver ranks.

After a final texting rule is issued this fall, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will develop another rule on other in-truck distractions, such as CB radios and dispatch systems.

The agency will examine “the full range of other in-vehicle distractions,” Rose McMurray, FMCSA chief safety officer, told the National Association of Small Trucking Companies. The goal is for a proposal that “reduces risk, but doesn’t unnecessarily affect the legitimate needs for communication with and by the driver.”

The agency has asked its Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee for ways to combat distracted driving, which the committee will report at its August meeting.

FMCSA will solicit comments on other high-risk driver distractions in a rulemaking following the final texting rule, the committee stated. The committee also has reported the agency is developing a notice of proposed rulemaking (NRPM), to be published later this year, limiting cell use by certain commercial motor vehicle operators in interstate commerce.

FMCSA published regulatory guidance in the Federal Register Jan. 27, clarifying interstate truck and bus driver violators of the texting ban could receive a maximum penalty of $2,750. On April 1, it followed with a NPRM explicitly prohibiting texting and providing disqualification penalties.

— Jill Dunn

Truckload of drugs recovered

Global logistics security provider FreightWatch International recovered a full truckload of pharmaceutical products on I-81 in Tennessee June 25.

The truck and trailer were stolen at 9 p.m. in Glade Springs, Va., from a truck stop along I-81 when its team drivers were eating.

FreightWatch’s covert tracking devices were embedded in the load. The stolen trailer was found at a truck stop in Tennessee along I-81. Police made a full recovery of the cargo.

— Staff reports

Speedway to host truck show

The inaugural Charlotte Diesel Super Show at the Charlotte Motor Speedway z-Max Dragway in Concord, N.C., will be Oct. 8-9.

Produced by Overdrive’s publisher, Randall-Reilly Business Media and Information, the show will include truck drag races, a Custom Rigs Pride & Polish contest and industry-related displays.

COLORADO. Slow-moving vehicles going through the mountains are required to stay to the right on grades of at least 6 percent for at least a mile on I-70. The lane restriction applies to all vehicles that can’t stay within 10 mph of the posted speed limit. Exceptions include entering and exiting the highway and weather conditions that dictate slower travel.

DELAWARE. The state is the latest to enact anti-distraction law banning texting and cell phone use while driving. The violation is a primary offense that carries fines ranging from $50 to $200.

FLORIDA. Gov. Charlie Crist recently signed into law a transportation bill authorizing vehicles weighing up to 88,000 lbs. on certain roads. The 80,000 lbs. limit remains for the Interstates. The bill also exempts APUs weighing up to 400 lbs. from the weight requirements.

INDIANA. Drivers must reduce their speed 10 mph under the posted speed limit if they can’t move to an adjacent lane under the state’s new Move Over law. In March a construction worker was killed on I-80.

KANSAS. Buckle up if driving through the state because a primary seatbelt law enables police to cite drivers observed not wearing a restraint. The District of Columbia and 30 other states have similar laws.

LOUISIANA. Texting while driving will be a primary offense beginning Aug. 15. The existing texting ban allowed officials to ticket drivers caught using their phones only if they were pulled over for another offense. Violators will continue to face a fine of $175 for the first offense and up to $500 for additional violations.

MASSACHUSETTS. A new anti-distraction law bans texting while behind the wheel. Fines range from $100 for a first offense to $500 for a third violation.

NEVADA. A U.S. Department of Transportation study ranks I-15 from Las Vegas to Los Angeles as the nation’s most dangerous highway. Over a 14-year period, 466 people died along the 180-mile stretch, DOT said.

WYOMING. Texting while driving is banned under a primary offense law that began June 30. The maximum fine is $75.

Survey finds truck satisfaction peaks early

According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 U.S. Heavy-Duty Truck Customer Satisfaction Study, Class 8 truck owner satisfaction peaks in the first nine months, or in 50,000 miles, the truck is in service, then decreases notably.

The study examining 2009 model year trucks was conducted in March and is based on 1,682 responses from “primary maintainers.” Results showed satisfaction levels peak during the first nine months of usage, averaging 768 on a 1,000-point scale.

Between 10 and 14 months of usage, satisfaction tends to decline by an average of 20 points. After 14 months of ownership, satisfaction declines by an additional 25 points, on average.

In the vocational truck segment, International ranked highest with an index score of 775 on a 1,000-point scale. The truck maker also finished first in dealer service with a score of 844.

— Jeff Crissey

FedEx Ground settles driver suit

FedEx Ground will pay $3 million to Massachusetts to settle claims that the company misclassified drivers as independent contractors.

State Attorney General Martha Coakley announced the agreement with Pittsburgh-based FedEx Ground July 15. She alleged the misclassification resulted in less revenue in payroll taxes, worker’s compensation and unemployment assistance for Massachusetts.

FedEx Ground denies liability in the settlement. A spokesman for the Pennsylvania-based subsidiary of FedEx did not return a request for comment.

In 2007, Coakley’s office cited FedEx Ground for violations of the state’s independent contractor law, which included failing to provide drivers with a proper pay stub and not paying overtime to certain drivers.

FedEx Ground appealed this to the Division of Administrative Law Appeals over penalties of more than $190,000. The AG then did further investigation with the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and the Department of Revenue, which indicated significant underpayments to the revenue department, Coakley said.

The settlement amount is for these underpayments and to 13 drivers named in the AG’s citation. These drivers have a separate pending suit not affected by this settlement.

In May, FedEx Ground issued new standards for its then 12,000 owner-operators, including requiring independent contractors to be incorporated.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ report, “Unlocking Freight,” warns of highway gridlock and a shortage of train tracks.

In a decade, an additional 1.8 million trucks will be on the road and in 20 years, 50 percent more trucks than today will be needed to haul freight, the report said. Trucks are expected to continue to move 74 percent of freight.

Interstate capacity needs increasing by 15 percent and 14,000 lane-miles of the National Highway System should be improved to Interstate standards, the report said.